Nathan
Abshire helped bring the blues and honky tonk to Cajun music and repopularized
the accordion with his recordings during the 1950s and '60s, but still never
managed to make a living from his music. Born in Gueyden, LA, on June 23, 1913,
Abshire began playing professionally in the 1920s, and he first recorded in the
early '30s with
Happy Fats & His Rayne-Bo Ramblers. Abshire went to work at the Basile, LA,
town dump around that time, and he held the job for most of his working life.
His fortunes began looking bright by 1936, however, when
the Rayne-Bo Ramblers began backing him on sides for Bluebird. After serving
in World War II, Abshire cut "Pine Grove Blues" — his most famous single and
later his signature song — for D.T. Records. He recorded for Khoury/Lyric,
Swallow, and Kajun during the 1950s and '60s, meanwhile playing local dances and
appearing on sessions by
the Balfa Brothers.
A renewal of interest in Cajun and folk music during the '70s gave Abshire a
chance to play several festivals and colleges and star in the 1975 PBS-TV Cajun
documentary, Good Times Are Killing Me. The title proved prophetic,
however, as Abshire fought alcoholism during his last years. Several sessions
for Folkways and La Louisienne followed in the late '70s, but he died on May 13,
1981.